Training Camp - Day Two

Work conflicts kept me from attending the TC opener on Friday night, but I was able to catch the majority of day number two during the afternoon session. I wasn't around during camp last season, so take my opinions with an obvious grain of salt, but color be extremely impressed. Here are some of the notes I jotted down during the 2 hour session:

12 PM-1 PM: Mostly group work done early on in the day. As a skill position guy, I gave the majroity of my attention to some of the Wide Reciever work being done on the near side of the field. Tommie Williams was working with the 8-9 players jocking for position on the depth chart, or in some cases, the team. I was excited when the announcement came a few weeks ago that Kenny Horton would be a part of the 2008 team, considering how well he played down the stretch in 2007. Outside of a minor leg injury that kept him out of a few drills, he looked to be in fantastic shape. He runs great routes, which is so important on the smaller field indoors, and flashed terrific hands throughout the individual workouts. Nizzi is back after a brief look at the AFL level, and looks to finally be at 100%, something I'm not sure I could say a year ago. He was one of the better WRs in the UIF through 4-5 weeks in 2007, so look for big things from the UNO product. A guy to really keep your eye on as camp progresses, is youngster Allan Brown. He's a speciman at 6'6, perhaps 190-200 pounds dripping wet, and plays like a really athletic tight end. He's very raw, getting constant 1-on-1s from the coaching staff on route running and getting off the line of scrimmage, but he has a chance to be a really special player if he progresses.

1 PM-1:30 PM: Got my first good look at recently signed QB Bo Bartek, and came away extremely impressed. With three QBs in camp and likely only two spots on the active roster, it was a competitve session to say the least when the corners came over for some 1-on-1 route work. Bartek stole the show early, completing his first 4 attempts, and flashing a quick release and a beautiful deepball on multiple occasions. The race is wide open to replace McNear (tough to do), but Bartek really helped himself during the 1-on-1 session.

1:30-2 PM: The day concluded as the defense and offense came together to run a script of 15-20 plays. Even though there was no tackling during the drill, the attention to detail was extremely fun to watch on both sides of the ball, in particular the defense. Reicko Jones flashed some incredible breaks on the ball, with QB Wright's first pass tipped in the ball and nearly intercepted. The difference between 2007 and 2008, coaching staff wise, was readily apparent during this particular session. With all due respect to 2007 coach Rod Miller, the NFL style that Coach Warren brings to the Beef was a sight to see. He has a chance to really put his stamp on this 2008 Beef team. The defense really controlled the game simulation action, getting to whatever QB was on the field at the given time, but the offense made some plays down the stretch.


All in all, I came away from my first training camp session incredibly impressed. The coaching staff, between coach Kerwin, coach Veiland, coach Williams, and especially coach Warren, was really getting a lot accomplished during individual and group work. There are a lot of new faces from a year ago that was to be expected, but the talent and coaching is really there to get some things accomplished in 2008. Which is especially good to see considering that there is no wake-up call to the season with a road game vs. a really good Billings team just weeks away. Training camp runs all week (6-9 PM), and I'll be there most days at the Center (144th and Giles). If you got time, it's a great enviroment and an even better way to get your blood boiling for the season. It's going to be fun! I'll be back tomorrow with the day 3 recap, as always, feedback and comments are welcome.

Matt